Subsequent box office

The media's praise and fans' support propelled "A Few Good Men" to rise in late 1992 with a dominant stance, carrying its strong first-week box office performance. Throughout its subsequent box office journey, "A Few Good Men" maintained an exceptionally high level of performance, becoming a box office success that could be compared to the three-time champion "Home Alone 2".

In the third week of December, the North American film market welcomed two heavyweight productions.

Warner Bros. teamed up with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee Curtis to create "Forever Young". Mel gained fame through the "Lethal Weapon" series, while Jamie Lee delivered an outstanding performance in "A Fish Called Wanda". The director, Steve Miner, proved himself through the TV series "The Wonder Years". The script was written by J.J. Abrams, who later gained acclaim as a sci-fi prodigy through the TV series "Lost". Despite being a newcomer, J.J. Abrams showcased his talent. This work was to be released in 1,800 cinemas and was considered the strongest competitor for the weekend box office crown.

Robin Williams joined forces with Barry Levinson to bring another film, "Toys". Both of them had previously collaborated with Hugo. Williams worked together on "Dead Poets Society", while Levinson directed Hugo's debut film, "Diner". This combination, competing with "A Few Good Men", was humorously referred to by the media as a "reunion on the North American box office chart". It was evident that "Toys", released in 1,300 theaters, was also considered to have certain competitiveness.

However, when the box office figures were released, everyone was surprised. It wasn't because "Forever Young" and "Toys" underperformed, or that "A Few Good Men" effortlessly retained the top spot. It was because the combat power of "A Few Good Men" was astonishing.

With only a 28% drop, "A Few Good Men" seized $20.5 million in its second week, reigning as the champion with the third-highest second-week box office of the year, following only "Batman Returns" and "Home Alone 2". Such a result was beyond even the boldest predictions of box office experts.

Originally, people had conservatively expected that as long as "A Few Good Men" maintained a 40% drop in its second week, it would be considered a victory. However, "A Few Good Men" not only achieved this goal but far surpassed it. After two weeks, the cumulative box office of "A Few Good Men" had reached $55 million, rapidly approaching "Home Alone 2". In an instant, the dawn of "A Few Good Men" surpassing $100 million at the North American box office emerged.

"..."A Few Good Men" easily repelled the challengers and confidently retained the crown of the North American weekend box office rankings!" The best-selling newspaper on the East Coast, The New York Times, reported the box office rankings of the week for the first time.

"The two new films released this week have been disappointing. "Forever Young" received a mediocre composite score of only 61, while "Toys" suffered an unprecedented wave of negative reviews, with a media composite score of 48, signaling a disaster. Both new works failed to display sufficient combat power, with the former ranking fourth and the latter only in sixth place among the top ten.

By comparison, in terms of the performance of existing films, the continued expansion of "Aladdin" and the steady drop of "Home Alone 2" provided more satisfying box office results, ranking second and third respectively this week.

Undoubtedly, the most outstanding work of this weekend is the box office dark horse "A Few Good Men", the new film starring Hugo Lancaster and Jack Nicholson. It has maintained its hot streak since its premiere last week, attracting fanatical attention from all sectors. This week, it confidently retained the top spot on the North American weekend box office chart with an incredibly low 28% drop. Mel Gibson, Robin Williams, and Barry Levinson were all defeated by Hugo Lankesite's immense momentum."

Only one week remained in 1992, and the Christmas season had not lived up to Hugo's expectations. The North American film market had yet to unleash its full potential, and even the competition during the summer season was not intense enough, let alone the relatively lackluster holiday season.

The two newly released films this week, "Hoffa" and "Trespass", despite generating buzz, both chose to be screened in only a thousand cinemas. It was evident that they did not have high expectations for the Christmas season.

"Hoffa" starred Jack Nicholson, who left the set of "A Few Good Men" early to film this movie. "Trespass" was directed by the same director who worked on "Alien 3", and the male lead was played by Bill Paxton, who had notable performances in "The Terminator" and "Aliens".

These two new films obviously faced challenges in the North American box office rankings. In the absence of attractive new releases and with demand during the holiday season, films like "A Few Good Men", "Aladdin", "Home Alone 2", and "The Bodyguard" had increased the number of cinemas screening them. "A Few Good Men" was screened in 2,100 cinemas, while "Aladdin" had the highest increase, reaching 2,300 cinemas.

The significant increase in the number of cinemas also led to a comprehensive rise in box office revenue for the final weekend of 1992. The most remarkable increase was seen in "Aladdin", which grew by a staggering 85 percentage points, reaching a weekend box office level of $13.4 million and making a strong impact on the North American box office rankings.

In comparison, the stylistic disadvantage of "A Few Good Men" became evident. Whether it was the family-friendly "Aladdin" and "Home Alone 2" or the intense and romantic "The Bodyguard" and "Forever Young", all had a stronger box office appeal due to the Christmas season. "A Few Good Men" fell behind, not to mention comparing it with "Aladdin", even its box office growth was limited compared to "Home Alone 2", which had been in theaters for six weeks. With a growth rate of only 20%, it was among the lowest in the top ten.

Nevertheless, relying on its accumulated advantage, "A Few Good Men" achieved another three-week champion title, earning $24 million with a 20% increase. Its cumulative box office reached an impressive $82 million.

At its current level, it was almost certain that "A Few Good Men" would surpass $100 million at the box office. With a production budget of $40 million, it would definitely recover its costs and bring considerable profits to Columbia Pictures. If we also consider the acclaim it received, "A Few Good Men" could be considered a resounding success.

For the final weekend box office of 1992, "A Few Good Men" secured its three-week champion position. "Aladdin", "Home Alone 2", "The Bodyguard", and "Forever Young" rounded up the top five. The newly released "Hoffa" and "Trespass" could only occupy the sixth and seventh positions, respectively.

After entering the new year, even though no new films were released during the customary holidays, it didn't mean that the competition in the North American weekend box office was not fierce. "A Few Good Men" maintained a 3% growth, earning slightly over $24 million in the weekend box office and securing its fourth consecutive champion title. "Aladdin", with its continuously growing box office, once again claimed the second position with $16 million. The rankings of other films remained relatively unchanged.

However, the more exciting news this week, compared to "A Few Good Men" four consecutive champion titles, came from the cumulative box office data. On January 1, 1993, after the fourth week of its release, "A Few Good Men" officially crossed the 100 million mark in cumulative box office, becoming Hugo's first film to surpass the 100 million milestone in his acting career!

In the early 1990s, surpassing 100 million at the box office meant tremendous success. In 1990, there were nine films that achieved this milestone, and in 1991, there were eight. As a lead actor, having a film that grossed over 100 million at the box office was a rare achievement in Hollywood. It was the benchmark of a box office superstar.

Since Hugo first appeared on the big screen in 1982, he had appeared in a total of ten films, and "A Few Good Men" was his first film to cross the 100 million mark. This could definitely be considered a historic breakthrough. No matter how many descriptions or praises were given, this one data point spoke volumes. Hugo's position in Hollywood immediately went from being a second-rate actor to joining the A-list camp. Although he currently occupied a lower rung within the A-list, any failure could lead to a direct downgrade. However, this was the first time in ten years that Hugo could truly be considered "A-lister" in the truest sense, which was extraordinary.

The phrase "from rags to riches" was truly fitting to describe Hugo's 1992. After the Golden Raspberry Awards at the beginning of the year, people almost believed that Hugo would decline and perhaps never see the youthful and handsome actor from "Dead Poets Society" again. However, in the second half of the year, Hugo announced his comeback with two consecutive works and embarked on a new peak with a vibrant momentum.

"A Few Good Men" dominated the champion position for four consecutive weeks, a situation that no one could have predicted before the film's release. Not only the news media but even Columbia Pictures, the distributor of "A Few Good Men", did not anticipate it, catching everyone off guard.

Along with "A Few Good Men" strong four consecutive champion titles, Hugo, as the lead actor, experienced a skyrocketing increase in popularity that resembled the scorching Sahara Desert in July, repeatedly surpassing people's expectations. Like a shining star, he swiftly rose in the North American film market, reaching an unprecedented level of popularity!